Buddha Shakyamuni with Attendants

This stele epitomizes the distinctive style of the early Mathura school of Buddhist sculpture, characterized by its mottled red sandstone and such features as the Buddha’s twisted topknot, the diaphanous garment worn over one shoulder, and the supple modeling of his body. Here, the Buddha is portrayed seated in vajraparyanka (vajra posture) upon a simhasana (lion throne). He is flanked on either side by attendants bearing fly-whisks, while vidyadharas (celestials) hover overhead. The tree branches splayed out behind the Buddha’s aureole invoke his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya.